After claiming the franchise’s 17th division title in 2008, the Vikings will navigate their 2009 schedule with a target on their back. But the good news is they won’t have to do it alone. After a week of training camp practices, a notable buzz surrounds the team as 
“Oh man it’s been great,” Harvin said. “I’m coming from Gainesville, and the fans there are all about football. So when I came here and saw all of the support we get, it makes me feel right at home.”
But members of the Vikings organization aren’t the only ones noticing the fan excitement. Judd Zulgad and Chip Scoggins recently penned an article in the Star Tribune citing the 60 percent increase in training camp attendance and also a 50 percent increase in Vikings-related merchandise sales. More specifically, Vikings VP of Sales & Marketing/Chief Marketing Officer Steve LaCroix pointed out that the Vikings are averaging 4,200 fans per day at training camp this year as opposed to 2,700 a year ago.
Even national media members have noticed the buzz. Peter King of Sports Illustrated wrote that “[T]he bleachers at Minnesota State University were filled, and about 3,500 people attended the two-hour workout” in his recent article and ESPN.com’s John Clayton mentioned that the “stands are filled” daily and that there is a “buzz that the Vikings haven’t seen since the Denny Green days.”
All you have to do is come to a Vikings training camp practice to see for yourself that an anxious fan base continues to build around the Vikings. The prospects of watching the defending NFC North champions regroup for another solid run - equipped with the game’s best RB and a roster full of stars (the Vikings have 6 returning Pro Bowlers) - has driven the Vikings fan base to buzz in support of the Purple.
The Vikings are feeling extra support in alternative ways as well. The newly re-designed vikings.com has seen web traffic increase 30 percent over 2008 numbers and the fan base has fervently embraced new social networking platforms to the tune of 76,000-plus Facebook friends and over 6,000 Twitter followers.
From the full bleachers at training camp to the thousands of friends and followers on Facebook and Twitter, excitement continues to mount for the 2009 Vikings as they begin their defense of a division title and quest for the Super Bowl.
